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All of the Secrets Behind The Hair In ‘Pricey White Individuals’ Season 2

Warning: This put up comprises spoilers.
We have waited over a year, but Pricey White Folks is finally again. The acclaimed movie turned Netflix sequence centers across the lives of African American college students as they arrive face-to-face with microaggressions on the fictional predominately white, Ivy League Winchester University. Based on its popularity and scope of a “postracial” America on a school campus, the show was renewed for a second season—and rightfully so. The situations Winchester college students discover themselves in feel all too acquainted for women of color.

Aside from the drama and good commentary on “wokeness,” while binge-watching the first season of Expensive White People, I could not appear to take my eyes off the wonderful hair seems to be that I so desperately needed to re-create. From textured pompadour of lead character Samantha White (performed by Logan Browning) to waist-size box braids of Joelle Brooks (Ashley Blaine), it was truly refreshing to see the versatility of pure hair flawlessly depicted in the sequence. Greater than that, the present captures the sophisticated relationship black ladies have with their hair—and, for thus many people, the way it ties into our identities.

With the present returning to Netflix this weekend, I caught up with head hairstylist Dontay Savoy to be taught more about how the characters’ hairstyles play a job this season. Savoy is an advocate of the natural-hair motion, which is why he wished the types this season to be reflective of that. “It was extraordinarily vital to show that it is Okay for black women to embrace their natural curl patterns,” he tells Glamour. “For a very long time, girls have been saved hostage of owning what exactly that their very own pure hair does by straightening it with relaxers, chemicals, and combs.”

This, if you remember from final season, was an enormous plot level for Colandrea “Coco” Conners (performed Antoinette Robertson). Episode four dived into her painful quest to cowl up her impoverished upbringing and slot in with the beauty standards of her white counterparts. She ditched her natural hair for sew-in extensions after which moved on to wigs. “Her character is type of glamorous, however we’ve obtained to remember, she’s still a school scholar,” says Savoy. “She comes from poverty, however she’s attempting to make it look like she’s the glam woman, the pretty lady who’s always been it. She would not need anybody to know she’s ever been poor or had to wrestle.”

Now, as black girls are persevering with to interrupt free from the constraints of Eurocentric magnificence ideals, Savoy says it was necessary this was also mirrored within the characters on the present, especially Coco, who’s struggled with this part of her identification for thus long. For the opening scene of season two, Savoy ditched Coco’s standard unfastened waves and curls for a extra audacious look. “I gave her this long, 45-inch ponytail with blunt-cut bangs,” he says. “That was one of my favourite hairstyles for Coco, because it was totally different. You never noticed her hair pulled away from her face, so that you had been capable of see how lovely she really is.” From the get-go, we see her interacting along with her hair in a means she often doesn’t—she’s seen stroking her ponytail and even whips her hair at Sam—conveying the power and confidence she’s built up over time. “Her hair is an accessory to her shadiness [this season],” says Savoy.

In the meantime, Joelle Brooks’ field braids made their return, however Savoy decided to diversify the way in which they had been styled. “For season two, I made positive I sent her to the best braider,” he says. “Lots of people suppose that once you put on braids, you simply have one or two types and that is it. I needed to indicate we might treat braids just like they’re regular hair.” Considered one of his favourite types “We put 4 or 5 cornrows in her braids, and it simply turned out magnificent,” he says.

Whereas Joelle did not make a drastic hair change, the change in her styling added to the shift in personality to her character. “Joelle comes to be taught extra about herself this season,” says Savoy. “She realizes that she has more than just brains. She begins to fairly herself up and add hair jewellery for a pop.” For instance, in episode two, Joelle is proven together with her hair in braided ponytails and gold-detailed beading singing Erykah Badu’s “Tyrone” throughout an open-mic phase after realizing she has feelings for Reggie. It was no coincidence that Brooks paid homage to Badu, who’s lengthy worn a plethora of natural hairstyles.

After which, in fact, there’s Sam—who’s pinned-up, crownlike pompadour is central to how she needs the world to see her. As a social activist and agent for racial equality, her hair mimics the kinds worn by other historic black feminists like Madam C.J Walker and Ida B. Wells. In season two Savoy needed so as to add a twist to Sam’s signature ’do by giving it extra of her natural texture (which he used Eco Styler Moroccan Argan Oil Styling Gel to maintain in place for hours).

Sam’s hair additionally symbolizes a few of the non-public hardships she endures this season—a visible signifier of her breakdown. Where for different characters, this is commonly proven as haircut, for Sam, it’s proven within the lack of her “crown.”

“There are moments the place you see Sam starts to put on all of her hair down in curly kinds which might be not structured,” says Savoy. “They’re not held along with pins or something. She’s simply wearing it unfastened.” One of those moments Savoy refers to specifically speaks to a scene episode 9, when Sam finds out that her dad has died. As curly short cut she heads house to be along with her household, her hair is totally down and in its seemingly pure state. “Sam was bored with combating, so the daring, structured, crowned hairstyles began to diminish,” says Savoy. “The man of her life handed away, and at that time she had nothing extra to show together with her hair.” She wore that hairstyle at school to curly short cut point out her tough exterior, and this episode reveals Sam in her most susceptible state, as she is full of grief and remorse.

Courtesy of Netflix

Whether or not a sign of strength or lack of it, what Pricey White Individuals does so properly once again this season is capture the nuance and complexities of black hair in 2018. All of us have our crowns—and this exhibits us the infinite ways we are able to put on them.